The case for a secular funeral ritual
Though secular people are increasingly saying no to a religious funeral, we note that it’s taking them forever to do it. Why so? Because, though they reject the theology, they like the ritual. Ritual is the antidote to chaos. It brings order. Everyone knows what to do. When death turns our life upside down, convention conquers […]
All things to all people?
Posted by Richard Rawlinson For better or worse, depending on your viewpoint, you know where you stand with both civil and Catholic funerals – give or take a few 1,000 variations on a theme. However, I’m not sure what to make of this organisation, and would be interested to hear your take on it. For […]
Remembering Josh
“REMEMBERING JOSH” is a film that records the life of our son Josh, as it was remembered at his funeral early in 2011. Josh Edmonds died in a road accident in while traveling South East Asia in January 2011. He was 22 years old. Our film is both a tribute to him, with many wonderful […]
Brutally creative chaos
You may remember this post, The Chaos of Meaning, about the photographic essay which Jimmy Edmonds created in commemoration of his son Josh. If you missed it, click the link and go see it; it’s rare that we are lucky enough to post anything so extraordinary and beautiful. Above is a trailer for a film […]
I’m not religious but there’s something about funerals…
Posted by Belinda Forbes From the moment I had booked myself onto a course to become a secular funeral celebrant, it started happening. Like when you get married, get pregnant or get a puppy. Suddenly everywhere you turn, it’s about weddings, what the expectant mum shouldn’t eat or drink, and how you should never play […]
The bitter spice that sweetens the dish
Posted by Jonathan A celebrant said today: “Even when funerals are designed to be a celebration of life, I nearly always begin by acknowledging people’s grief and sadness.” Jose (see his thought provoking blog post of 19th September), ever enquiring and studiously leaving no stone unturned, wants to know about incorporating grieving and celebration of life […]
A good funeral: part 1
Posted by Sweetpea In the light of our recent discussions about the merits of secular, civil and religious funerals, one interesting thread started to appear. Namely, what should a funeral not fail to include? Can a funeral ever really be meaningful to anyone? Does any funeral do the things that people need it to do? […]
Words, words, words
First posted by Charles on 9 Feb 2010 I’m putting this back up as a contribution to recent debates started by Jose and Richard. Following my post about the ineptitude and ineffectiveness of words, I stumbled on this piece in the Sydney Morning Herald. It’s actually about citizenship ceremonies, but you’d never guess it from […]
Should the British mourn or celebrate their dead?
Posted by Jose Antonio Estevez Garcia When my best friend died at the age of 38 it was a drama – not only his unexpected loss but also his funeral which, far from helping us to face that moment, only added more pain to those grievous days. The reason is quite simple: when Angel died his […]
Oh bits from obits
Posted by Jeanne Rathbone Noel Coward said funerals were the cocktail party of his set. James Joyce called them funforals and GB Shaw said ‘ Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh’. I am a Humanist celebrant and have conducted hundreds of […]
